


it's you and me

by redlight



Series: a challenger appears! [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver | Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver Versions, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Coordinator Hunk, Crushes, Jealousy, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Pokemon AU, Pokemon Journey, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Threesome, Team Rocket Grunt Keith, Trainer Lance, Unrequited Crush, also!! plot devolpment, and right now everyone's a pining wreck, arcanine doesn't put up with keith's bullshit, hunk shows up in chapter 2 thank g o d, i'm not about that love triangle life but like keith has a crush on lance who has a crush on hunk, so many zubat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-11-21 08:09:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11353380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlight/pseuds/redlight
Summary: “You know I don't have any real ID,” says Keith.Arcanine shakes her mane and makes a condescending sort of noise. And then she gives him a sharper glare.“You know what happens to Rocket grunts around here, when they get found out, right?” Keith asks. It's a genuine question.Arcanine looks him right in the eyes, and starts walking in the direction of the nearest town. Without waiting for him. Probably getting ready to use Extreme Speed.“I hate needles,” Keith tries at last. Then he gives up and trudges after her. “I don't know why I bother.”Arcanine purrs.Keith needs to get his Pokerus shots after being wrecked by a swarm of Zubat. Lance is at the Pokemon Center 'causehe's having the shittiest day, but also because Hunk isfinallyable to call him back, after being so busy with his contests in Hoenn! Meanwhile, Keith gets to deal with more gross, terrible feelings. Definitely not jealousy. What's jealousy?





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith seriously needs to get vaccinated.

So Keith remembers the risk of being infected with Pokerus around a day after he gets into a firefight with a whole swarm of Zubat.

“Oh,” he says, catching sight of the numerous healing scratches and bites he has on both of his arms – mottled, red, ugly scabbing. He's got scratches on his face, too; he reopened one by scratching his nose in the morning, but without access to a mirror, he doesn't know how bad they look. “Shit,” Keith says, rolling his sleeves down to cover them.

Arcanine scoffs under her breath, and refuses to acknowledge him. She’s insisting on staying out of her ball, despite _not listening_ to Keith when he commanded that she fix all their problems with a simple Flamethrower.

She had just given him this look, this _Flamethrower doesn’t fix problems, Keith_ look, but she’s definitely the reason Keith got swarmed by a horde of irritated, prematurely-awoken _flying demons_.

“I guess we actually have to go to the Pokemon Center, huh?” Keith looks down at his torn-up jacket. “Get up to date on our vaccinations.”

Keith's been trying to avoid Pokemon Centers as often as he could, but it's not like they had the right to _refuse_ him. It's just, if they found out his ID wasn't legit, or that he was carrying stolen Pokemon with him, well, they'd definitely be calling the authorities on him.

Keith...just has to be careful. Make sure he doesn't get caught.

That's all he has to do.

“Being arrested is probably worse than dying of a disease that makes you froth at the mouth,” Keith mutters. “Should I take the risk?”

Arcanine gives him a sharp glare.

“You know I don't have any real ID,” says Keith.

Arcanine shakes her mane and makes a condescending sort of noise. And then she gives him a sharper glare.

“You _know_ what happens to Rocket grunts around here, when they get found out, right?” Keith asks. It's a genuine question.

Arcanine looks him right in the eyes, and starts walking in the direction of the nearest town. Without waiting for him. Probably getting ready to use Extreme Speed.

“I hate needles,” Keith tries at last. Then he gives up and trudges after her. “I don't know why I bother.”

Arcanine purrs.

“We could’ve avoided _all_ of this if you just used Flamethrower when I asked you to,” Keith bitches.

* * *

Goldenrod’s Center is the safest bet.

Not only does Goldenrod City _thrive_ with crime and an overwhelming Rocket presence, its facilities are almost guaranteed to be paid off by the Team, and Keith could walk into the Center in full-uniform and face no consequence.

He doesn't do that, by the way. He _really_ doesn't want to call attention to himself, and, besides, Keith’s too attached to his now-torn, possibly-literally-decimated leather jacket that honestly smells like Zubat droppings now.

Is the local laundromat paid off, too?

Keith huffs under his breath, ducks his head lower when the nurse at the counter catches sight of him.

“What – oh, dear,” she says, clicking her tongue. “Well, put your pokeballs on the counter. I can take a look at those scratches, too.”

“Thank you,” Keith mumbles. “Um, it was Zubat? So I need, um…”

The nurse nods, immediately comprehending. “Some vaccinations for you and your Pokemon? Of course – you know, so _many_ trainers never think to get vaccinated when they're bitten by wild Pokemon! Pokerus can enhance stats, of course, if you _treat_ it and keep it controlled, but it's no good for _humans_ – !”

Keith nods grimly as the nurse continues to babble on, her brows becoming furrowed as she almost becomes _angry_ in her ranting, mumbling under her breath about _stupid uninformed politics_. Keith stops paying attention at this point, just watching closely as she puts his Arcanine, Sneasel, and his first sleeping Zubat into the healing machines.

At some point, the nurse tells Keith to sit in the waiting area – she needs to get the vaccines, take stock of the remaining medications, and attend to some of the critical-care Pokemon before she can take him. But he can wait twenty minutes.

So, Keith sends all the Zubat he actually caught – like, ten of them, _so many Zubat_ – to the PC, and then he sits.

But, because Keith’s life is an absolute wreck of Zubat attacks and petty crime – just a total trainwreck in general – Lance walks in.

Well, it's more like Lance _falls_ in – ‘cause Lance is always _falling_ when Keith sees him, for some reason. Onto Keith or around Keith or over Keith. Lance falling into him is the most physical contact Keith’s had with another person in, what, months?

Well, most _positive_ physical contact, excluding all of Keith’s fistfights. And bad situations with wild Pokemon. And Arcanine tackling him from behind that one time, which he was _lucky_ he wasn't hospitalized for, because human bodies generally cannot withstand the force of a six-foot-tall canine rushing towards them in puppyish excitement.

Anyway, Lance hurtles into the Pokemon Center, Totodile perched on his hair and shoulders. He gets his shoelace caught on the sliding door and nearly lands on his face. Keith grabs him by the arm just in time, barely managing to steady Lance.

“Hey,” Keith says. He trails off awkwardly; there was – there was something _more_ on the tip of his tongue, pushing up against his teeth. It could’ve been anything from _hey loser_ to _hey Lance_ to _hey sweetheart, babe, honey_.

Shit.

Keith is so, so far gone.

“Keith! Hi!” Lance squeaks, a little wild-eyed. Totodile – Franny, who'd been grasping onto his back for dear life, blearily climbs down to the floor. She proceeds to kiss the ground – well, she tries to, for all her jaws will allow her to kiss. Keith tries not to think about it too much.

“Sorry, um – ” Lance looks like he’s about to dart out of Keith’s grip, with the way he’s looking way, _way_ past Keith’s shoulder, his mind totally stuck on something entirely different – but then his eyes focus on Keith. Keith’s scratched up nose, the hairline claw-marks on his grime-smattered cheeks, the sight of Keith’s near-ruined jacket. Honestly, he’s just looking at Keith’s general state of _mess_. “Holy shit, what the heck happened to you?”

Lance shrugs away from Keith – and then one hand is on Keith’s shoulder, the other hand trying to adjust the collar of Keith’s jacket, warm fingers brushing the hollow of Keith’s throat for barely a millisecond. “Did – did something attack you – ?”

Keith should be used to Lance being all touchy, by now – they’ve encountered each other often enough on this so-called _journey_ of his. Lance bumps into people, Lance falls into Keith’s arms, Lance pokes Keith and tugs at Keith’s wrists and messes with Keith’s hair, ‘cause it’s _Lance_ and Lance is just a physical person –

Keith is apparently not used to Lance being all touchy.

His hands come up to push Lance away roughly, making him stumble back. Lance yelps, and Franny’s eyes dart up to Keith – suddenly watery and absolutely _betrayed._

Fuck, Lance’s lips actually _quiver_ for a second – it makes Keith’s stomach distort itself and knot itself up with his surrounding organs. Then Lance’s blue eyes narrow, dull like brine pools.

“Well, _fine_!” Lance snaps, with that wild-eyed look again. “If you d-don’t want no one to _worry_ about you, that’s _fine_ – ”

“Sorry,” Keith blurts out. Lance freezes, though his glare isn’t any less heated. “Sorry, I just – I’m not used to being touched.”

“... _Whatever_ ,” Lance hisses, scooping Franny up in his arms. Huffs under his breath, turns to walk up the Center’s stairs, to the communications service area. He throws an insistent look back at Keith. “You’re telling me what happened later! Right now – _right now_ I need to go talk to someone, but when I’m done, you’re _telling me_!”

Keith nods, a little dumbly, a lot stunned. Lance stares at him for a whole second, eyes frosty, before he scoffs and bounds up the stairs, teary-eyed Franny in his arms.

Keith watches him go, nervously tugging at his jacket collar.

“ _Yikes_ ,” says the nurse, right behind him, and Keith _jumps out of his skin_. “Well then!” She claps her hands together. “You ready for your shot?”

“I hate needles,” Keith says.

“Tough luck, sweetie,” says the nurse.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the shit Lance has been up to.

Lance has been having a _bit_ of a shitty day, y’know?

Goldenrod Gym kicked his ass, _again_ – which, alright, maybe Lance can't rely on Blue to sweep through a team all the time. Just because Blue is _an absolute star_ at wrecking other people’s shit, doesn't mean she’s at the level where she can battle four Gym-trained Pokemon consecutively. Not _yet_ , at least! Blue’s getting there, but, like, without even a type advantage over Gym Leader Coran’s normal typing, then…yep, more training. Snorlax can learn fighting type moves, right? 

At least Coran is a cool guy. He's always mentioning these variations of Legendary Pokemon myths that Lance has _never_ heard before – _really_ , he wasn't sure if Entei was really a guy in a mascot suit with a flamethrower, and Lance is _really_ sure Clefairy don't actually come from the moon…probably. But Coran’s got a familial, kind smile under that _admittedly pretty awesome_ mustache of his, and a genuine caring tone to his words accompanying that accent that Lance can't really place. Like, just a little too much off from the Sevii Islands accent? Something like that.

Coran’s a super nice guy though, helping Lance heal his Pokemon even after pretty much _decimating_ him in battle. All _five_ times. And Lance, okay, yeah, he likes to brag about being a great trainer – which he _is_ , he's good, no matter what that mullet-brain _Keith_ says! 

But…yeah. Blue’s strong, but Lance relies on her, like _literally all the time_. Which has resulted in her being _considerably_ higher-leveled than Franny and even Edge, who’d just evolved into an Espeon. Which results in Lance being completely, totally, entirely _screwed_ as soon as Blue goes down.

So, there was strike _one_ on Lance’s Reasons Why Today Was _Shit_ list. And he could've dealt with that, because Coran is cool, and really nice, and maybe makes Lance feel a little less homesick with his crazy stories and uncle-like demeanor. Strike One _didn't_ get him down.

Strike _Two_ was when Lance stumbled into a younger girl, almost too young to be a trainer, with brown pigtails and way too many friendship bracelets drowning her arms. Kicking her feet while sitting on a park bench, sniffling and roughly wiping tears from her eyes with her arm, asking him, “ _h-hey, have you s-seen anyone with m-my – my Marill, s-s-someone took him –_ ”

Lance asked what the _someone_ looked like.

_Black clothes_. Another rough sniffle, a sobbing cough into the sleeve of her red shirt. _Sleazy smirk, big red ‘R’ emblazoned on his shirt_. Her friendship bracelets getting tear-stained, blue and green threads darkened with saltwater. _Team Rocket_.

Lance likes to think of himself as a calm, rational person, okay? He’s chill and he's _fluid_ , he can roll with the punches and glide with the downsides. Go with the flow and the undertow, it's _him_ , he can do it. 

So…he was kinda _super-intensely-really_ surprised at the flood of _Super-Intense-Real_ ™ anger within his veins.

Hopefully the girl didn't notice the rage in his trembling attempt at a soothing smile, as he promised to go to the police station with her. Hopefully she didn't hear Lance, ahem, _arguing_ with the guy at the front, and he _definitely_ hopes she didn't hear the words he had to say. 

Strike _Three_ – how the fuck could the Goldenrod cops just _not_ consider helping, it’s fuckin’ _Team Rocket_. Lance is just a regular trainer, it's not like he's gonna be able to stand up to a brutal crime syndicate. And he's – he's heard _stories_ about Team Rocket. Pokemon trafficking is their vice of choice, but they dabble in other shit, too – organized assassinations and distribution of stuff like revival herbs, things like that. And Lance knows about the crackdown on Celadon City’s Game Corner, three years ago – massive team of International Police, tipped off by someone on the inside, arrests upon arrests upon _arrests_ – so maybe it makes sense to be a little suspicious about _Goldenrod’s_ Game Corner. Or even just Goldenrod in general.

…Huh. So maybe _that's_ why the guy at the police station was a dick.

Anyway, when Lance walks into the Pokemon Center, he's feeling pretty shitty about his _super-intensely-really-shitty_ day, but he's got a blue-green friendship bracelet strapped ‘round one wrist (the pigtailed girl was too sweet? Holy shit, she thanked him for trying to help and he couldn't even _do_ anything useful for her, Strike _Four_ – and Lance is pretty sure that many strikes is too much – )

And then there's _Keith_ , just waiting right at the entrance, biting at his nails even with his grimy fingerless gloves on – _ugh, does the kid even wash his hands?_

Just Keith, _again_ , here to save the goddamn day and keep Lance from slamming face-first onto the floor and devouring some _delectable_ yellow porcelain tile. Really, Lance could’ve liked it, that shade of yellow is _killin’ it_. Stupid rival Keith, denying Lance opportunities to find himself. What is a journey as a Pokémon trainer if you can't get some damn _self-discovery_ scheduled between all the battles and binges at the Pokeblock&Poffin store, _huh_? 

And so, the universe was like, _welcome to Strike Five, Lance_ , with Keith’s face as the introductory jumpscare.

Keith’s stupid, _scratched-the-hell-up_ face. Dirt splattered across his cheeks, entwined with the rough red scab lines gouged into his pasty flesh – what the fuck, does Keith just like to get mauled in his spare time? Is that his hobby? He even has this one big scratch on his nose, is it _still bleeding_? That's _not healthy_ , Keith – !

Except, _whoops_ , Keith’s a _jerk_ who likes to physically shove people far, far away to keep in tune with his emotional distance. _Fun fuckin’ times._

So here Lance is, slumped in front of the Center’s old computer screens on a shitty little chair, set to call his _bestest friend ever_ Hunk just to negate the emotional effects of this Totally, Horrible, Not Great day, while trying to soothe Franny’s tiny little tears ( _aw_ , man, talk about a new meaning to _crocodile tears_.)

“Keith didn't mean it,” Lance tells Franny, as he tries to the video call _again_. The Center’s computers are older, a little slow – but Lance _does not have time for this_ , seriously, if this becomes – what, Strike _Six_ , then he's gonna be _mad_. 

Lance sighs and lets Franny teeth at his jacket sleeve, which, despite its tough material, is still lined with mild teeth-marks. It's not even like Franny is trying to _bite_ , bless her soul – she just needs something to mouth on. “I just – can't go stumbling into people all the time, y’know?” Except _Keith_ could also _stop being a_ – ugh, y’know what, whatever, Lance doesn't wanna think about it.

Franny makes this huffy little sound, sits back, lightly knocks the tip of her snout against the computer keyboard.

“Yeah,” says Lance, throat a little dry. “It's kinda shitty, isn't it? They're just old, that's why.”

He retries the call, as Franny bats her tail absently against the arm of the chair they're both sitting on.

“C’mon, _c’mon_ ,” Lance grumbles, as the call _finally_ connects.

And – yep, _there it is_ , Hunk pressing his face a little too close to the camera, eyebrows furrowed cutely and his tongue sticking the barest bit out in concentration. Lance chuckles at the sight, straightens his back up, plops Franny down into his lap and hugs her close. “Hunk!”

“H-hey, Lance!” The call stutters, a brief lag in the video and static clinging to the audio. Lance bites his lip nervously, but…

Oh, wow, okay, he _really_ can't keep his face from splitting into a grin. 

(This is like, a negative three on the Strikes list, _thank the legendary beasts –_ )

“ _Hunk_!” Lance says again, leaning back, playing with his jacket sleeves. ‘Cause _there_ he is, Hunk’s got a band-aid stuck to one cheek, cute headband pushed up to keep his hair out of his face – one of the nicer headbands Hunk has stashed up for his contests, all poppy-patterned and pretty. “Oh, man, am I glad to see _your_ beautiful face.”

The words slip past Lance’s tongue easily, along with a casual wink and a flirty smirk. Hey, he can't help it sometimes – but it's so, so worth seeing Hunk’s cheeks dusted the slightest hint of red against dark skin, the way he giggles, almost flustered.

(And Lance, Lance is falling too damn _fast_ and he’s ready to hit the ground too damn _hard_ , with his heart in his throat and his shitty smile stitched messily across his ever-lying lips _._ )

“How's that contest life coming along?” Lance continues, propping Franny up so she can see better – she’s pawing at the screen glass but that’s okay, her claws aren’t sharp and she’s gentle for a Totodile, anyway. 

“It's good,” Hunk beams. “I – oh, man, you know how I was learning how to make pokeblocks? Well, I was trying these different things to get rid of the chalky texture and stuff, and – wait, you like the sweet kind, right, Lance? So I was messing around with some of the berries I remember Blue likes – did her tastes change? Man, I haven't seen her since she was a Munchlax – ”

“ _Whoa whoa whoa_ ,” Lance stumbles out. “Why are you – are you making stuff for me?” He draws his knees into a cross-legged position on the chair, tucks his chin on top of Franny’s head. “Why?” 

“Oh,” Hunk says, grinning sheepishly. Adjusts his headband a little. “Yeah, so it’s been awhile since I’ve seen my family and everything, and, y’know, the contests are a little on the off-season and it’s not like I’ve been accepted into any tournaments coming up or anything – so! I’m visiting home soon.”

“Oh, cool,” says Lance.

And then he _yells._

“ _HUNK YOU’RE COMING BACK_!” Lance is bursting up to his feet, and Franny yelps as she tries to grab hold of his legs, clinging to the fabric of his pants. Okay, Lance _might_ be pressing his face too close to the webcam –

“You going by flight? Or boat? But that might trigger your motion sickness more – ” But there’s a frenzied giggle stuck in Lance’s throat, mania floating up into his grin and making him jitter his fingers nervously against the counter. “Listen, I’ve been sitting here _pining_ after you for, like, months,” and it’s a joke but it’s really not a joke, yikes. 

Hunk snickers, makes Lance’s heart flutter like it's got tiny fragile Butterfree wings.

Lance _may_ or _may_ not be somewhat heartbroken when Hunk tells him he has to hang up, but at least they got in a good fifteen minutes of talking, right? That's enough…that's enough for Lance, he's chill with that. 

Go with the flow and glide with the downsides and all that. Yeah, he's fine.

( _It's just a stupid little crush on his best friend, this kinda thing happens all the time – he’ll get over it_.)

Totally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hunk needs more screentime in my own damn fic
> 
> theres gonna be a 3rd chapter with keith again whoops lol
> 
> footnotes!! (and nerdy trivia)  
> 1\. The girl with pigtails?? Lyra from HGSS lol  
> 2\. I made Coran the Goldenrod Gym leader! Still normal typing, kinda left him in the background this time but who knows he might show up again;;  
> 3\. Pokeblocks look like Pez candy?? with the dispenser and everything. Like look up the official art it's a pez candy dispenser.  
> 4\. I'm a nerd but I did it by accident;; pokemon in Goldenrod Gym are level 15-19. Totodile evolves at level 18, soooo i kinda implied that Franny is too low-leveled for Goldenrod Gym AND gave the reason she hasn't evolved yet, since most of the other Pokemon mentioned HAVE evolved, but they dont evolve based on level, they evolve based on items/friendship (Arcanine, Snorlax...) I'm SUCH a nerd omg.  
> 5\. Goldenrod City's Japanese name is Kogane City. SUP KEITH
> 
> next chapter!! is almost done!! tbh i just wanna get to part 3 bc i have _stuff_ planned for that it's gonna be fun lol. thanks for reading!! :))


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Franny is such a little shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahahahaha....yikes this took so long omg sorry.
> 
> this part of the series is finally done! part 3 is gonna be super fun, lol. 
> 
> thank you so much to everyone who read and kudosed and commented!!! <3 you guys make me so happy))

~~~~Keith finds Lance upstairs, curled up on one of the chairs, facing a video-call screen that flashes with the words _Call ended._ He's got his knees tucked under his chin, gazing owlishly at the keyboard in front of him as Franny gnaws at his pant leg.

“I got vaccinated,” Keith says, slumping down beside Lance. “Your reptile is eating your clothes.”

Lance chuckles – it's this sad, hollow little sound that makes Keith’s mouth go dry. “She's teething. She's just a baby, her teeth aren't even that sharp yet.”

Keith nods, as Franny blinks up and gazes at him suspiciously. “I’m sorry for pushing you like that,” Keith says.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” Lance sighs, petting Franny on the top of her scaly head. He looks at Keith, brows furrowed in concern. “Vaccinated?”

“I got attacked by Zubat,” says Keith.

“...Oh,” says Lance, lips twitching. “ _Really_?” And then his mouth breaks out into this bright, mischievous grin. “ _Zubat_? Oh my gosh – okay, that's like, the least surprising thing _ever_ , but still.” He snickers, legs dropping so that he's sitting cross-legged. Leans forward into Keith’s space, long eyelashes and the barest hint of cinnamon-colored freckles on his face. “You catch any?”

“I caught eleven,” says Keith, and – and Lance’s face does this thing where it's caught between disbelief and absolute _delight_.

“Wow,” says Lance. “ _Wow_. Why? Or, nevermind, I guess a legion of Zubat could be – ” he wrinkles that freckle-smattered, slightly crooked nose of his. It's cute. Keith doesn't know how to handle cute. “Useful? Definitely useful for scaring people off, probably. Or a haunted house, or something.”

“Right,” Keith says distractedly, still staring at Lance’s nose, at the way his minute freckles scatter across his cheeks, a bit under his eyes. The Center’s horrible lighting reflecting in Lance’s eyes and brightening a flash of warm skin from just beneath his jacket collar.

“...uh, Keith?”

Keith jolts up. “Yeah, sorry. Um, who were you calling?”

So, well – where Lance’s smile was a bit forced, it turns bright and big and _genuine_ , and the slightly-hollow look in his eyes turns shiny, and the slump of his posture straightens as he leans forward. It’s all _subtle_ , really, Keith’s just paying too much attention –

( _Who’s making Lance smile like that?_ )

And then Lance speaks, excited and happy and – shit, fuck, Keith’s cheeks heat up. He’s not blushing. No, he’s _not_.

There’s no heat trapped inside his cheeks, no sharp flare of... _something_ in his stomach.

“Yeah, that was just – ” A laugh catches in Lance’s throat, a grin stretches across his face. “That was my best friend. You don’t know him – well, I mean, of course you wouldn’t, but, but he’s in a different region – Hoenn! He’s staying in Hoenn right now, he’s a coordinator. His name’s Hunk.”

“Hunk?” asks Keith, fingers clenching and unclenching at his jacket collar.

Lance snickers. “It's a nickname, but _man_ , it totally fits, if you know what I mean.”

Lance playfully wiggles his eyebrows and Keith feels that sharp stab of heat in his insides again, enough to make the back of his throat feel a little...nauseous.

Lance doesn't notice – his eyes are too bright and his smile too excited. “And Hunk, he’s – _great_. Used to live here, when we were kids – _man_ , the shit we’d get into. Or, well, _I’d_ get us into it.” Lance trails off, looks at Keith, smile fading. “Sorry – I just. Miss him. I really miss him. Y’know?”

“Right,” Keith says shakily.

Taking a deep breath, Keith curls his fingers into the worn denim of his jeans. _Okay, time to try this again_. “Y-yeah. Yeah, I know the feeling. I have someone like that, too.” Someone with a warm proud smile and mischievous gray eyes, someone who kept Keith in line, tried to take care of him – someone Keith _really misses_.

Lance’s eyes widen minutely. He smiles a little sadly at Keith. “Yeah?”

“Uh – he’s practically my brother,” Keith says tersely. “I haven't seen him in a long, long time.”

As if Keith could even _face_ Shiro, could even surpass the shame and betrayal – Keith _stayed_ with Team Rocket, even when Shiro asked him to leave, but Keith _betrayed_ his _own brother_ –

“That really sucks,” says Lance. He claps a gentle hand over Keith’s shoulder, gives him a soothing shake. Franny waddles over and gives Keith’s leg a hug.

Lance’s eyebrows raise high, a little dumbfounded. “What the heck, she still likes you.”

“You should evolve her,” Keith says, happy to change the subject. “Have you got past Goldenrod Gym?”

“I – _see_ , this is why I don't understand why she still likes you.” Lance frowns and picks up the Totodile. “You're too good for him, Franny. You're perfect the way you are, you evolve when you wanna.”

Franny stares blankly at Lance. Then she gives Keith another toothy smile – toothier and more smiley than the usual expression on her face, so. She waves with an excited claw.

“What the _heck_ ,” Lance says again. “You're not even charming!”

 _Unfortunately_ , Keith thinks. Maybe if he were more _charming_ , he’d actually know what to say to Lance half the time.

“I guess I’m just naturally attractive to make up for it,” Keith deadpans.

Lance _looks_ at him, eyes blinking rapidly. And then a tiny hint of red rises up in his cheeks. “What? Oh, _please_ , you haven't even – ” he stands with stumbling feet, points a finger into Keith’s nose. “You haven't even _washed your face_ , Keith!”

“Oh,” says Keith. “Right. Maybe I should do that.”

Franny chirps happily, opening her mouth.

“No,” Lance says to her, waving his arm frantically in a dismissive gesture. “Nope, no Water Gun. Not _here_ , we’ll get in trouble.” His eyes dart back to Keith, and, uh, okay, that’s definitely a blush behind those cinnamon freckles.

….Did Lance just become flustered? Because of _Keith_?

Before Keith can think about it too hard, Franny makes a whining sound and ducks her head.

“We could do it outside,” Keith offers, and Franny beams at him.

Lance bristles. “Or we could use the _sink_ , Keith.” He huffs. “Do I have to do everything for you?”

 _I wouldn’t mind if you did_ , Keith thinks sheepishly.

Keith wouldn’t mind having _all_ of Lance’s attention on him.

And, uh, as Lance drags him off to the Center’s bathroom, still lecturing both Franny and Keith about the _proper way to clean up_ , before he starts chattering about bandaging Keith up and how _Hunk_ is usually the one that’s good at that kind of thing – well, Keith can’t help but feel a little smug that, for now, Lance’s attention _is_ all on him.

Only a little smug. Just a bit. He’s definitely not smirking as the hot surge of _not-jealousy_ quells inside his stomach.

(Franny, despite apparently _liking_ Keith, just keeps snorting and shaking her head at him.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> footnotes!
> 
> 1\. We see Shiro mentioned!! Keith knows him!! if any y'all played HGSS you probs know where i'm going with this  
> 2\. i implied it in previous chapters but keith is generally a higher-leveled trainer than lance....for now. (??)
> 
> see you all!! in part 3!!:))

**Author's Note:**

> the last part got such a positive response and i!! i just want to thank everyone who commented?? bc usually i reply to comments but i got kind of overwhelmed and i didn't reply this time so thank you all so much for that!! i'm glad to see so many people liking blue and franny, haha;; 
> 
> next chapter will be Lance's POV! also Hunk will be introduced! bc klance is great but why klance when you can klunk;; i'm a multishipping ho i can't help it.
> 
> more footnotes will be added later!
> 
> hit me up on twitter!! [@bubblegumlance](https://twitter.com/bubblegumlance) plz talk to me i need friends


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